Ukraine speed to test new-look Germany defence

EVIAN/NICE, France — Germany’s defence will be put to the test in their opening Euro 2016 group match against Ukraine in Lille on Sunday with major questions still to be answered about the world champions’ new-look rearguard.

Coach Joachim Loew’s team will be without key central defender Mats Hummels, still recovering from a muscle injury, as they kick off their Group C campaign.

Hummels’ replacement Antonio Ruediger was ruled out with torn cruciate knee ligaments this week.

Holding midfielder and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, still working on his comeback from injury, is also absent, further complicating Loew’s defensive conundrum.

Benedikt Hoewedes and Jerome Boateng are the two likely central defenders but both had a long injury break late in the season and are in desperate need of match practice.

Jonathan Tah, the 20-year-old who was only called up this week following Ruediger’s injury, is expected to be on the bench.

Toni Kroos, who will shoulder the biggest responsibility of connecting Germany’s defensive and attacking game, is brimming with confidence following his Champions League win with Real Madrid.

Assistant coach Thomas Schneider sounded confident on Friday that the team would quickly find their cohesion at the back.

“In the last few matches we thought a lot about our defensive operation and we came up with a few things, including for defensive set pieces,” he said.

“We have worked on that in training and everyone knows their job.”

Ukraine, while outsiders, are certain to test the Germans’ new-look defence with quick wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka capable of inflicting severe damage.

It will be up to Loew’s full backs to neutralise that threat but they must also break down a steely Ukraine defence.

The Germans, eyeing their fourth Euro triumph but first since 1996, have never lost an opening match at the European Championship and are aware a slip-up could prove costly.

“The first game is extremely important and it will determine our run in this tournament,” attacking midfielder Julian Draxler said.

Ukraine managed to keep six clean sheets in 10 qualifiers with coach Mykhailo Fomenko having taken over after the co-hosts’ disappointing Euro 2012 campaign.

They then came out on top against Slovenia in a play-off last year, with the 67-year-old having moulded them into an efficient unit.

Longest unbeaten run

Decades since Poland or Northern Ireland made a mark at an international football competition, both teams will be looking to get their European Championship campaigns off to a strong start on Sunday when they play each other in Group C.

Northern Ireland, playing in its first European Championship, has the longest unbeaten run of any team in the competition, while Poland has Robert Lewandowski, one of the most feared strikers at the tournament.

Northern Ireland’s 12-game unbeaten run and first place in its qualifying group were eye-catching but those achievements were helped by a comparatively easy group in which ultimately Romania and Hungary proved to be the biggest threats. Poland arguably arrives with the more impressive record, with only two losses since March 2014 and a victory over world champion Germany in qualifying.

Germany, which plays Ukraine later Sunday, is the clear favourite to top Group C. For Poland and Northern Ireland, their match in Nice offers them a great chance to forge ahead in the battle for second place, which would ensure automatic qualification to the round of 16.

Neither side has accomplished much since their glory days. Poland, which came third at the World Cups of 1974 and 1982, has yet to win a match in its two European Championship appearances, notably in 2012 when as co-host it came bottom of its group.

Northern Ireland hasn’t reached the finals of a major tournament since its second consecutive World Cup appearance in 1986. However, it’s going into the tournament with injury concerns. For a team that’s heavily reliant on players from the lower leagues in English football that’s an additional worry.

In the 3rd match of the day, Croatia will seek to erase the bitter memories of their Euro 2008 failure against Turkey, described by key players as their most painful defeat ever, when they meet in this year’s Group D opener in Paris on Sunday